Only Angels Have Wings
by angel-death-dealer
Summary: Set during Last Man Standing. Tony was informed about Ziva's injuries in Morocco so travels to Israel to be at her side, and ends up having an interesting conversation with Ziva's father that could change everything. Tiva. Oneshot.


Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I own nothing.

This takes place as an alternative to some of the Last Man Standing scenes. I don't think we saw any reaction from Tony about what happened to Ziva in Morocco, which makes me think he didn't even know in the first place. So, this is what I think would happen if he had been told.

**Only Angels Have Wings**

"I am surprised that this is the first time our paths have crossed, Agent DiNozzo."

Tony was surprised himself, but much more surprised that he'd been allowed into the office of Mossad's Deputy Director with such ease. He'd expected gunfire and severe bruising, maybe some broken bones, if not imminent death before he'd even finished speaking. He hadn't expected a 'certainly, this way, sir' and a kind smile. "Please, it's Tony," he corrected. "And yeah, I am too, sir."

He wasn't really, because he'd always made it an effort to avoid any visual sighting by the infamous Eli David, but that was what you said, right? This wasn't the sort of man he wanted to disagree with…again. He'd heard stories about how Ziva's father reacted to her male partner, and he knew that the elder man knew of multiple visits per week that took place to one another's apartments back in DC. He knew also knew that he didn't want to end up as a victim of some of Mossad's ninja tricks just for going over to Ziva's apartment every now and again.

"I hear you have spent many hours at my daughter's side," Eli commented lightly, not looking up from the paperwork that he was glancing over.

Tony however, didn't remove his eyes from him. Of course he had spent many hours at Ziva's side. Ever since Gibbs had called him on the Seahawk to tell him that Ziva had been severely injured during an undercover mission, he'd been spending every second as close as he could to her. A helicopter had been sent to the Seahawk to transfer him to the nearest airport, where he had taken the fastest route to Tel Aviv. It was sitting in the airport that he realised he'd left his post on Gibbs' instructions, and without permission from the Captain. Surprisingly, he'd found a pair of Mossad operatives waiting for him there, with instructions to take him directly to the infirmary in Mossad headquarters. He'd complied, knowing that he didn't have the language abilities to argue with them, and he'd never be able to find Ziva in a city where ever corner seemed to scream of her essence. Just on the journey to the headquarters he'd realised why she had such a love for her country.

Inside the infirmary, he'd found himself helpless. He'd travelled thousands of miles to come to his injured partner's side, and once he was there he didn't know what to do. For a while he just stood in the doorway, muttering her name to himself as he looked at her broken body, covered in scratches and bruises from the bomb in Morocco. When he'd finally taken steps forward and ended up at her side, he hadn't moved for two days. One of the English speaking doctors had told him that she could wake up at any moment, but the hours passed and she made no movement. He'd noticed her father coming by on several visits, but only once had he entered, and that had involved a heated conversation between Eli and the guards outside Ziva's private room which had ended with Tony being escorted out. He'd then spent hours under observation of the Mossad operatives in some kind of lounge before he had requested to speak to Ziva's father.

"Yes, sir," he said simply, deciding to hold his tongue and use his manners like Gibbs would have forced him to do under the circumstances.

"I am glad," Eli said after a moment. Tony raised his eyebrows, something that Eli didn't see but he still commented on. "You believe otherwise?"

"You did nearly have me thrown from her room," he pointed out. "Or shot. I don't speak Hebrew, so I don't know what you were telling those guys."

Eli smiled to himself over his work. "I was not ordering you dead, Anthony. It is Anthony, yes?"

"Yes, sir," Tony answered, hating how, just like Ducky had done, he had learned his first name was Tony and then insisting on using the full first name. However, he didn't mind it from Ducky, only Eli wasn't the sort of man he felt like being picky with.

"I was simply ordering that you were not disturbed and that none of the medical personnel saw fit to remove you from Ziva's side," Eli told him. "Given the amount of time that Ziva has been sleeping and the amount of time you have been beside her, I imagined that some of the nurses were growing tiresome of your presence."

"Wow," he said, before he could stop himself.

"You are surprised," he noted.

"Ziva told me she had an overprotective father," Tony said.

Once again, Eli smiled to himself. "You expected me to drag you away myself and threaten you, yes?"

"Yeah, actually," he admitted. "Maybe with some bodily harm to get the message across."

"And instead, I allow you to stay with my daughter," he finished for the young agent.

"You can see why I'm surprised," Tony pointed out.

"We are a complicated family, Anthony."

"I know all about complicated families," Tony told him. Eli looked up finally, raising an eyebrow at this statement. Tony shrugged. "Drunk father, didn't care for me much. Dead mother, didn't care for me much. Older brother, didn't care for me much. Grandmother, cared too much and died too soon. Chuck some affairs and too many stepmothers in there as well. Complicated," he summed up.

"Then you know that family can be our greatest love and our ultimate weakness."

He nodded. "Yeah, I know that."

Eli put down the papers he was holding, looking at the photograph beside his computer screen. Many years ago, he would not have displayed a personal photograph in his place of work, but since Ziva had been stationed in Washington he had found himself missing the eyes of his children. He missed their smiles even more, because he had not seen Ziva's for a long time before she had left. In the photograph were his two daughters, Ziva and Tali. The photograph used to contain his son, Ari, but the young man had long since been cut out from the photograph after his betrayal. Tali was also dead, long before her half brother, but he still missed her every day. He had destroyed his chance at having a son, manipulating Ari wrongly until the only way to realise this was to know that they had gone too far to go back, and he would never have the chance to see his youngest daughter grow into a beautiful woman. However, he still had Ziva, even if they were usually separated by at least one ocean. He still had the chance to give her happiness.

"What is it that you came here to ask me, Anthony?" he asked.

Tony followed Eli's eyes to the picture, his eyes falling on the back of the frame. He wondered what was in the frame, but realised it was more than likely Ziva in some way, perhaps in an age where she wasn't hardened by the sights she had seen in her life. "Why did you call Gibbs to get me to come here?" he asked curiously.

"Ten years ago, I was father to three children," Eli told him. "A son and two daughters. Now, ten years later, I have but one daughter remaining."

"Ziva," Tony said softly.

"She is the light of my life, and the reason that I am still in this occupation," Eli revealed. "There are days when I know I have seen too much, done too much, and yet done too little at the same time. On these days I can look at my daughter and see a reason to continue fighting. Who else can fight for a better future for her children and her children's children better than her own father?" he asked.

Tony looked down, his lips curling in amusement.

"Is something amusing?" Eli asked.

"No, sorry," Tony covered quickly, not wanting the Deputy Director to think he was laughing at his display. "It's just…Ziva's not the type of person to let someone do the fighting to her."

"And I am afraid that is my own doing," Eli admitted. "I can still, however, let her live the remainder of her life under her wishes rather than my own."

Tony frowned slightly. "I don't understand."

Eli leaned back in his chair. "When I send her undercover in Morocco, I had no idea that it would be so dangerous for her. There were risks, yes, there always are, but I was not prepared to see the face of my unconscious daughter on the evening news. She is not the person she was before she left for America, and for that, I am very glad indeed."

"Everyone back home misses her," Tony told him. Using the word 'home' when he was actually residing on a series of Navy ships was still natural to him. "She's got so many friends at NCIS…Abby, our forensic scientist, feels like she lost her sister when Ziva came back here."

"And you?" Eli asked.

"I think it's obvious that I missed her," Tony pointed out. "I did leave my post without permission to come here."

The elder man smiled, looking to the photograph for a moment one more. "She will be glad to know that."

At that, Tony shifted uncomfortably in the seat, taking his eyes away from Eli and directing them instead at the ground. "When she wakes up," he mumbled.

"And she shall," he was assured. "Her physician assures me that her condition is improving every day."

"But she still hasn't woken up," Tony argued back.

"She knows you are with her, Anthony," Eli told him softly. Tony looked up at this. This time, Eli didn't see a young man braving an elder man because he wished to see his partner. This time, he saw a young boy, desperately clinging to a hope that he feared might be in vain. "When Ziva was first moved to our infirmary, I was told she was asking for a 'Tony'." Tony looked hopeful. "Over and over again she would whisper your name as she drifted in and out of consciousness. Yes, she knew that I was beside her. She knew that she was not alone, but it was not my presence that she needed to soothe her. Sometimes, whilst dreaming, she would become quite distressed when asking for you. When you arrived, she stopped whispering and has finally been able to sleep peacefully."

Tony nodded slowly, looking in mild disbelief at the man before him. "She was asking for me?"

"This surprises you?" he asked.

"I just…" Tony ran his hand over his head, his hair spiking up in various directions and making him appear even more exhausted. Jet lag still reigned over him, mainly because he hadn't slept since before he had learned Ziva was hurt. "If I'd known…"

"There was nothing you could have done for her other than what you are doing now," Eli assured him.

"There's always something," Tony smiled sadly.

"She will wake when she is ready," he told him. "And when she does, I am certain she will be glad to see you beside her."

Tony looked at him hesitantly. "No overprotective father stuff?"

"If you are worried about me being overprotective towards my daughter, would you not be more concerned about asking me to let her return to America with you rather than whether or not you can stay at her beside?" Tony looked away, looking awkward again now that his intentions had been discovered. "I am not blind, Anthony. I can see what is happening."

"And what is happening?" Tony asked him.

Eli looked at him for a moment before answering. "Your eyes have mirrored the look on in my daughter's since she first returned home. If that tells me anything, it is that the two of you care for one another very deeply. Whether or not you have told each other of this I do not know, but the fact that you came halfway around the world almost immediately to wait for her to awaken shows that you should."

Tony sighed. "If she'd wake up, I would."

"You wish for her to return to America," Eli stated.

"We all do," Tony nodded.

Eli gestured to him. "You are the one sat before me, Anthony. This is your request."

Tony was starting to see how it was impossible to lie to Ziva. Clearly, she'd picked that trick up from her father. Just like his partner, her father seemed to know everything just by looking at you. "My time as agent afloat ends soon," he explained. "I'll be going back to being a field agent. The other agent we worked alongside is already back at his desk."

"Which just leaves Ziva missing from the picture."

He nodded. "Yes, sir."

"You and my daughter have been partners for some time, yes?"

"Three years, sir," Tony nodded again.

"Then I am to assume that you have saved her life many a time, yes?"

Tony smiled to himself. "And she's saved mine plenty more."

"Your team leader, Gibbs, yes?" Tony nodded. "He tells me you and my daughter make a good team."

"Yeah, we work well together," Tony confirmed.

"Then it would be a shame to keep such a successful team from being able to continue that partnership," Eli said.

Tony looked at him hopefully. "You'll let her come back?"

"On one condition."

"Anything," Tony said quickly.

"It has become clear to me that my daughter cares for you very much, Agent DiNozzo. I may not have been the perfect father, far from it, but I would like to believe that my daughter holds me in her heart. There was a time when I believed that I would be the only man to hold her heart, however small a part she allowed me to cherish. It is since she returned, however, that I have seen her heart no longer belongs to me, but to you."

Tony stared at Eli, confidence beaming from his eyes. "If you're asking me whether I'm going to hurt Ziva, my answer is no," he defended.

"I am glad," Eli smiled. "I would hate to turn into an overprotective father."

Tony smirked in return, while inside his heart was racing at the knowledge he could take Ziva back to America with him. Eli went to speak, but the ringing of his phone stopped him. He reached out, taking the receiver and speaking rapidly in Hebrew for a few moments before hanging up again.

"That was the infirmary," he informed Tony.

His head shot up, eyes wide. "Is she okay? Did something happen?"

"Yes," he nodded. Tony started to panic, wondering what awful things could have happened since he had left her side. However, Eli smiled at him. "It seems Ziva is talking in her sleep once more. Would you like to guess who it is she is asking for?"

------------

It didn't take them long to go downstairs to the infirmary. Tony had been surprised that NCIS had nothing like this, especially considering the amount of times Ducky had needed to perform some stitches on one of the team members who refused to go to the hospital, but then he remembered that NCIS didn't even have the privilege of a private jet like some agencies. While Eli spoke with the doctors, Tony leaned against the window looking into Ziva's room, watching as she murmured to herself in the balance between waking and sleeping. He couldn't hear what she was saying, but he could see from watching her lips that it was his name most of the time. It ached him to see her like that, and just when it was becoming too much that he had to look away, Eli approached him.

"You can calm her, yes?" he asked him,

Tony looked at him. "What?"

"Her doctor tells me that this anxiety is not linked to her injury, but to her shock," Eli explained. "She needs to be reassured. They cannot understand her because they do not understand the language she speaks. You do. You can calm her, yes?" he repeated.

Tony nodded numbly. "Yeah."

"Then go to her. I will see that you are not disturbed."

At this instruction, Tony moved into the room. Eli remained in the doorway, watching as Tony made his way over to Ziva's bedside. When he leaned over, placing his hand on her cheek, her had shot up and grabbed his wrist. Thankfully, this was not the arm that was attached to her drip, as such a movement would have ripped it from her arm.

"Hey, it's okay," Tony whispered. "It's me. It's Tony."

Ziva didn't release her tight grip on his arm, but she did slowly open her eyes. Tony smiled at this, letting out a relieved laugh. "Tony?" she asked.

"Yeah, it's me," he nodded. "It's okay. I'm here now."

She loosened her grip on his wrist, and he sat down on the mattress beside her, holding her hand in his own instead. "What…how…?"

"Your father and Gibbs have been conspiring," he told her. "Your doctors said you kept asking for me, so they got me out here."

"Doctors?" she asked, as he smoothed back her hair, revealing a hefty bruise on her forehead. "Morocco?" she remembered. "There was a bomb."

"Yeah," he nodded. "But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that you start feeling better now you're awake." She winced as his fingers grazed the bruise accidentally. "Sorry, you okay?"

She closed her eyes, bringing their entwined hands to rest above her heartbeat. "I wish to go home," she told him softly.

"You are home, Ziva," he told her, bringing his hand back down to her cheek, using his thumb to trace her jaw line softly, one of the few places that wasn't marred with bruises. She shook her head lightly. "You don't mean Israel, do you?" he realised.

She stopped shaking her head, nestling her face into his touch instead. "Take me home, Tony?" she whispered to him tiredly.

Tony looked over his shoulder to where Eli was standing. The elder man had heard what she said in the quiet room and nodded. Tony nodded back in understanding, before turning back to Ziva. He leaned down, carefully kissing the top of her head. "I'm taking you home, Ziva," he assured her. "Just try and get some rest first, okay?"

"Stay with me," she whispered.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised.

With some gentle manoeuvring, Tony ended up holding her in the bed, lying down with Ziva curled against him. He took care to hold her where he wouldn't be aggravating her injures. Tony could feel them being watched, and caught Eli's gaze once more, the elder man smiled and walked away, leaving them to their privacy. In the new position of comfort, Ziva sighed against Tony's chest.

"Home soon?" she asked softly.

"Soon," he murmured back into her hair. "When you're better."

She sighed again, curling into him even more. "I am now."

He smiled gently. Even when she was half out of it she tried to pass herself off as better than she was. "Nice try, sweet cheeks. We're waiting until the doctors kick you out before we head back."

"Tony…"

"Don't worry," he jumped in quickly, kissing her hairline. "I'm still staying."

"Thank you."

He leaned down again, mumbling into her hair. "I'll never leave you again, if this is the trouble you get into without me. Is it your life's purpose to make me worry or something? I get a phone call in the middle of the night from Gibbs to say that your father had contacted NCIS and that something had gone wrong with your mission and that you were in the hospital. I've never been so…" he trailed off, looking down and noticing that she was asleep against him, not listening to any of his ranted words. He smiled at her, glad that this sleep looked more peaceful than the last.

-------------

Later, while Ziva was still sleeping, Eli David returned to the infirmary to see his daughter. He was pleased to see that she still looked relaxed, even if Tony looked even more exhausted than before as he remained watching over his partner. Eli watched for a moment, noticing how Tony kept his eyes on Ziva's face, his fingers tracing a gentle trail up and down her spine as she slept leaning against him. After a moment, he entered the room fully, closing the door behind him. As he did so, Tony's head rose from the pillow, his hand stopping the soothing motions on Ziva's back.

"Do not let me disturb you," Eli said, holding up a hand. Tony tiredly returned his head to the pillow and resumed his gentle stroking. Eli sat down beside the bed, opposite the side where Tony lay so that Ziva's body was between them. "You look exhausted, Anthony," he noted.

"I'm okay," he responded quietly.

Eli laughed gently, keeping his voice low all the same to avoid waking Ziva. "You are as stubborn as she is."

"So I'm told," Tony noted.

Eli reached over, touching Ziva's hand gently with his own. "She is much calmer, with you here," he observed.

"You think so?" Tony asked.

"If you could have seen her when she first arrived…" he trailed off, shaking his head as his hand recoiled from Ziva's. "No, it is not an image you should have seen. It is not an image one should have to remember of the one they care for so deeply. It is the material of nightmares," he sighed.

Seeing the disturbed look on the strong man's face, Tony frowned. "Sir…"

"The hardest pain to endure is to watch your child suffer and know that, as a parent, you can do nothing to ease their pain," Eli told him. "It is a pain I have seen many times, and one that I hope my daughter never has to witness for herself." He smiled fondly at his sleeping daughter, realising that it had been too many years since he had seen her so peaceful. "Although, she would not stand for her children to have suffered in any instance."

"No, she wouldn't," Tony agreed.

Ziva moved in her sleep, apparently hitting a bruise as she hissed in her sleep, whimpering for a moment. Tony froze for a moment, thinking he had been the cause of the pain, but when she brought her head closer to his chest he continued his previous actions.

"You okay?" he whispered to her. She just mumbled incoherently in reply. The gentle smile from Eli told him that her words had been Hebrew, and while Tony had not understood them, it had clearly brought back some memory of her childhood to the elder man. "Try to go back to sleep, Zi," he told her.

"Tony…" she mumbled.

"I'm still here," he told her softly.

Her fist balled up her shirt between her fingers, but she soon settled again. Her hand relaxed even though it didn't release the material in her grasp. Eli stood after she had fallen still once more.

"It is late," he noted. "I will return tomorrow."

Tony looked at him. "You don't have to-"

"I only came to inform you that I have spoken to Director Vance," he informed him.

Tony's eyes widened a little, clearly dreading the next words. "You did?"

He nodded. "It took some convincing on my part, but he has agreed to reassign Ziva to her liaison position." Tony sighed with relief. "He has also agreed to waver your remaining weeks on the USS Seahawk," he added.

"What?" Tony asked.

"You will not be returning to NCIS to work until the agreed time in three weeks, and the same applies to Ziva. After all, she will be expected to take some time off to fully recover."

Tony continued to look more and more confused. "Does Gibbs know about this?" he asked.

"I believe it was his idea," Eli told him.

"Are you sure?" he checked. "Because Gibbs knows how much Ziva and I don't like taking time off," he explained.

"Yes, I had a message to pass on to you in that instant," Eli remembered. "It involved permission to break rule twelve and that you ultimately had no choice in the matter."

Tony looked stunned. "Right…uh…why do we need to wait three weeks?" he asked.

Eli placed a file at the end of Ziva's bed. "There is a safe house that Mossad has previously used just outside of London, on the English southern coastline. It has not been used for many years no, so it no longer of known whereabouts to many agents. Ziva will not rest enough to recuperate if she knows she is in vicinity of work that can be done. As soon as she is well enough, I will arrange travel for you both. You will find necessary amenities in the cabin, as well as some more indulgent luxuries that have been added more recently."

The stunned look now combined with the confusion. "We're going on vacation?"

"I am asking you this as a favour, Agent DiNozzo," Eli corrected him.

"Of course," he recovered.

"My daughter has been miserable since she returned home. I knew from the way she asked for you when she was injured that you could change this. I am asking you to do that."

Tony continued to watch Eli, no longer darting his eyes between the man before him and the file that had been placed by Ziva's resting foot. Three weeks away from work. Three weeks on the English coastline. Three weeks alone with Ziva. The last of those points seemed to win everything over. Knowing that she had been hurt had been terrifying, and then seeing her so distressed had been even more so, but to be there now, holding her in his arms, knowing that she had wanted him at her side…how could he refuse her father that when it was what his own heart wanted?

He nodded. "Yes, sir. I can do that," he told him.

"I am glad," Eli smiled, giving him a knowing nod. "Welcome to the family, Anthony DiNozzo."

And as the door closed silently in his absence, Tony couldn't help feeling slightly unnerved at his words. However, when Ziva's hand moved slightly, he remembered the reason he had just been welcomed into such a family…he had a job to do, a promise to keep…and not just to Ziva's father, but to himself. He was going to make sure that Ziva got better, and then he was going to make sure that she knew exactly how he felt about her, why he had left his post without permission to be at her side, and just how much he wanted her home.

After all, he had won over the Deputy Director of Mossad…how hard could it be to win over his daughter?

END

A/N: I hope you liked this. It was supposed to be a sequel to 'The Angels Can Wait', but it's become more of a companion piece.


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